The Impact And Implication Of Perkinsus Olseni On Australian Abalone Fisheries
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$322,174.00
Summary
Perkinus olseni is a protozoan parasite that has negative effects on three commercially harvested abalone species in Australia – blacklip, greenlip and Roe’s. Disease manifestation ranges from high mortality (e.g. New South Wales; Liggins and Upston 2010) to chronic clinical infection (Gudkovs 2016). Chronically infected animals often exhibit extensive macroscopic lesions rendering the product unsaleable. Outbreaks in the 1980s in the South Australian (SA) Central Zone (SACZ) fishery removed 15 ....Perkinus olseni is a protozoan parasite that has negative effects on three commercially harvested abalone species in Australia – blacklip, greenlip and Roe’s. Disease manifestation ranges from high mortality (e.g. New South Wales; Liggins and Upston 2010) to chronic clinical infection (Gudkovs 2016). Chronically infected animals often exhibit extensive macroscopic lesions rendering the product unsaleable. Outbreaks in the 1980s in the South Australian (SA) Central Zone (SACZ) fishery removed 15 t of greenlip catch, with partial recovery of the fishery taking 30+ years. Avoidance of fishing areas in the SA Western Zone (SA WZ) abalone fishery with high prevalence of Perkinsus-related lesions has displaced ~10% (11t.yr-1) of blacklip catch to alternative fishing grounds, exacerbated quota reductions and likely cost the fishery in excess of $10 million over the past ten years. The impact of Perkinsus on abalone fisheries has not been fully quantified and the factors driving prevalence and disease expression are unknown. This information is fundamental for the effective management of this disease, and in particular the prevention of its spread and proliferation. Understanding the impacts of Perkinsus on abalone fisheries and developing strategies for mitigating impacts are the highest priority research need of the SAWZ. These aims are also relevant to the Abalone Council Australia strategic plan and supported by the SACZ and SA Southern Zone abalone fisheries because of the threat this disease poses to both fisheries. This project will consolidate current knowledge on Perkinsus, describe the impact and drivers of the disease in Australia, and determine whether shucking at sea is a high risk. This information is necessary to mitigate the spread and impact of the disease where abalone are currently shucked at sea. If shucking at sea is a high risk we will evaluate alternative ways in which harvesting can occur without further disease spread.
Objectives: 1. Assessment of the economic impact of Perkinsus olseni on blacklip and greenlip abalone fisheries 2. Identify environmental factors influencing the expression of clinical perkinsosis 3. Preliminary evaluation of the fate of viscera discarded at sea 4. Evaluate whether Perkinsus zoosporangia can be detected in faecal pellets following ingestion by fish or other viscera consumers (laboratory trials) 5. If objective 4 indicates zoosporangia detection in fish faeces, hold a workshop to evaluate ways in which harvesting can occur without further disease spread. Read moreRead less
Exploring the role and outcomes of employee voice in a hospital setting. This project aims to identify ways to improve patient care and enhance employee wellbeing of healthcare workers through better utilisation of employee voice practices that enable employees to speak up. We aim to do this by identifying and distinguishing between the types of practices used by these workers to speak up on issues concerning working conditions and patient care concerns. The project will identify the determinant ....Exploring the role and outcomes of employee voice in a hospital setting. This project aims to identify ways to improve patient care and enhance employee wellbeing of healthcare workers through better utilisation of employee voice practices that enable employees to speak up. We aim to do this by identifying and distinguishing between the types of practices used by these workers to speak up on issues concerning working conditions and patient care concerns. The project will identify the determinants of speaking up in healthcare and the consequences this voice has for quality of patient care and worker wellbeing. This will have significant benefits for hospital stakeholders, including improved patient care, employee satisfaction and retention, and hospital efficiencies.Read moreRead less
Optimising the occupational wellbeing of Australian healthcare workers . This project aims to address the wellbeing of Australian healthcare workers by focusing on the relationship between a manager’s leadership style and the utilisation of wellbeing practices. This project expects to generate new knowledge by moving beyond individual factors and work design to explore more deep rooted and systemic causes, located upstream of the work group. Expected outcomes of this project will be to develop ....Optimising the occupational wellbeing of Australian healthcare workers . This project aims to address the wellbeing of Australian healthcare workers by focusing on the relationship between a manager’s leadership style and the utilisation of wellbeing practices. This project expects to generate new knowledge by moving beyond individual factors and work design to explore more deep rooted and systemic causes, located upstream of the work group. Expected outcomes of this project will be to develop preventative strategies to improve healthcare employees’ wellbeing, and the associated costs of mental health claims and lost productivity.Read moreRead less
Healing Country: integrating knowledge systems to meet climate challenges. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are currently experiencing severe environmental challenges related to a changing climate. Led by Aboriginal communities, this project aims to integrate traditional knowledges and environmental and health data to create community story-data maps. These interactive, online maps will be a unique and powerful blend of information, providing a rich evidence base, decision-suppo ....Healing Country: integrating knowledge systems to meet climate challenges. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are currently experiencing severe environmental challenges related to a changing climate. Led by Aboriginal communities, this project aims to integrate traditional knowledges and environmental and health data to create community story-data maps. These interactive, online maps will be a unique and powerful blend of information, providing a rich evidence base, decision-support and communication tool to inform the co-design of local climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience plans. The project aims to give agency to Aboriginal communities in leading a systems change process to reduce environmental risks and strengthen health and wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Unlocking benefits from digital investments. This project aims to address one of the most vexing questions in the management of information systems: how to unlock the value of digital investments. The project expects to develop new theory and evidence on how to achieve meaningful use of information systems at multiple levels of analysis. The project will especially benefit the health sector, and society, by helping health providers and vendors to maximise the value obtained from substantial inve ....Unlocking benefits from digital investments. This project aims to address one of the most vexing questions in the management of information systems: how to unlock the value of digital investments. The project expects to develop new theory and evidence on how to achieve meaningful use of information systems at multiple levels of analysis. The project will especially benefit the health sector, and society, by helping health providers and vendors to maximise the value obtained from substantial investment in digital technologies, and by developing evidence-based policies to optimise digital service delivery.Read moreRead less
Improved monitoring of aquatic pollutants in national water resources. Clean water is predicted to become the world’s most valuable asset during this century, necessitating the improved monitoring of Australia’s limited water resources. Using a new and integrated monitoring approach, this project expects to develop and implement novel passive sampling technologies to monitor a range of water pollutants, specifically toxic ionised organic chemicals of emerging concern. The outcomes of this projec ....Improved monitoring of aquatic pollutants in national water resources. Clean water is predicted to become the world’s most valuable asset during this century, necessitating the improved monitoring of Australia’s limited water resources. Using a new and integrated monitoring approach, this project expects to develop and implement novel passive sampling technologies to monitor a range of water pollutants, specifically toxic ionised organic chemicals of emerging concern. The outcomes of this project will create cost-effective tools to advance the detection of emerging chemicals in drinking, ground, surface and waste waters. The technology will benefit millions of Australians by safeguarding essential water resources.Read moreRead less
Diagnostic Detection Of Aquatic Pathogens Using Real-time Next Generation Sequencing
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$216,000.00
Summary
Current diagnostic programs generally rely on highly -specific assays for pathogen detection. While these techniques are invaluable, they are one dimensional and do not provide detailed information critical to a disease investigation. These gaps include the inability to detect unknown pathogens and potential variants of know pathogens and provide no additional genomic or transcriptomic data. Moreover, samples must be shipped to trained personnel in a laboratory, further delaying the time to diag ....Current diagnostic programs generally rely on highly -specific assays for pathogen detection. While these techniques are invaluable, they are one dimensional and do not provide detailed information critical to a disease investigation. These gaps include the inability to detect unknown pathogens and potential variants of know pathogens and provide no additional genomic or transcriptomic data. Moreover, samples must be shipped to trained personnel in a laboratory, further delaying the time to diagnosis. The MinION, on the other hand, can theoretically detect any pathogen and can potentially be deployed to the field. Moreover, the MinION can rapidly generate full-length genomes, allowing for epidemiological tracking of viral or bacterial strains in near real-time. Such rapid data, which cannot be obtained as quickly using existing methods, are vital if the intention is to intervene in an outbreak and reduce impacts on the productivity and profitability of aquaculture facilities. For example, a rapid, early diagnosis may allow mitigating actions to be taken on-farm, such as the diversion of intake water, movement restrictions of stock and the isolation of infected ponds. These qualities make the MinION an attractive complimentary platform to fill several gaps in the data obtained during disease outbreak investigations, or routine diagnostics, and potentially for use in the field. However, results from the misuse or lack of understanding of the technology could also have adverse regulatory implications for aquaculture industries. For example, without appropriate guidelines, an inexperienced diagnostician may misinterpret a distant DNA match in a pathogen database as a significant result, this may create unwanted attention to industry and potential stock destruction or changes to disease status that are unjustified. Thus, it is critical that the MinION is evaluated at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory, and guidelines and procedures are developed for accurate diagnostic evaluations. The activities detailed in this application will establish the feasibility of using the MinION for diagnostic applications, and ensure that the data is reliably generated and interpreted appropriately.
Objectives: 1. Evaluate if MinION data meets or exceeds the data obtained using established laboratory-based NGS platforms. Objectives (1) and (2) align with Methods section (1).The first objective of this project is to demonstrate if the MinION can obtain quality genome assemblies of known pathogens, such as WSSV, AHPND, OsHV-1 and HaHV that have been created using existing NGS technology. Moreover, determine if the MinION is capable of producing a diagnostic result more rapidly and with greater confidence than traditional techniques. STOP/GO POINT: If MinION data does not produce reliable genome assemblies, no improvement in genome quality, or is significantly more laborious to set-up/run or analyse than existing NGS technologies, do not proceed with objective 2. 2. Evaluate the performance of the MinION using existing diagnostic extraction techniques and produce robust methods and protocols for sample preparation, sequencing and data analysis. This objective will optimise MinION protocols for sample pre-processing, optimal sequencing conditions, and data post-processing. We will then evaluate the MinION data produced from a range of aquatic organisms against data produced using traditional techniques from the same samples. STOP/GO POINT: If after these optimisations, the MinION cannot detect pathogens as reliably as traditional techniques, do not proceed with objective 3. 3. Compare the applicability of MinION to standard molecular assays for identification of pathogens in diagnostic samples. Objective (3) is aligned with Methods section (2).In this objective, diagnostic samples will be tested using existing diagnostics tools (qPCR, cPCR) and MinION sequencing. Analysis between the methods will be detailed, including time to result, pathogen identity and genomic information. This objective will not only provide an insight into real-time sequencing for diagnostics, but in addition the feasibility of MinION technology for field application in the future. Read moreRead less
Security Of Resource Access - What Is Legislative Best Practice For The Commercial Seafood Industry?
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$50,000.00
Summary
The need for improved resource security was articulated at the SIA Tipping Point meeting held in Fremantle in February 2019. This event was attended by seafood industry representatives from across Australia. The absence of secure access to resources, both aquatic and terrestrial, is a major threat and looming impediment to the growth and prosperity of the Australian seafood industry. This is not a new problem, but despite debate, discussion, lobbying and advocacy for more than 2 decades, it ....The need for improved resource security was articulated at the SIA Tipping Point meeting held in Fremantle in February 2019. This event was attended by seafood industry representatives from across Australia. The absence of secure access to resources, both aquatic and terrestrial, is a major threat and looming impediment to the growth and prosperity of the Australian seafood industry. This is not a new problem, but despite debate, discussion, lobbying and advocacy for more than 2 decades, it remains an existential threat to the Australian seafood industry.
Improving security is critical to providing an environment that encourages innovation and the confidence to invest and work in our industry.
Lack of certainty of access to biological and environmental resources has significant ramifications for the mental health of our people, and negatively impacts access to business opportunities and other critical business resources including finance and staff. Flow on effects from continued resource access restrictions also affect our post-harvest businesses, freight companies and local communities across Australia.
The threats to access and resource security are varied, including: • sharing resources with, and impacts of, other marine and terrestrial users including recreational fishers, indigenous title claims, petroleum industry, • changes to / lack of clarity surrounding government policy and legislation, • use of Ministerial discretionary powers, as demonstrated by the Western Australian Government intervention in the WRL fishery quota and dramatic increases of pearling lease fees, • water quality requirements associated with aquaculture operations, • uncertainty results in risk in financing of commercial fishing operations, • access limitations restrict growth of jobs in the aquaculture, wild and post-harvest sectors, • changing community perceptions • eNGO activism such as in the small pelagic fishery, quota purchases, alternate definition of sustainability and targeting particular fishing methods, • restriction of access through increasing reserves including Marine Parks and threats of more restrictive management plans, and • changing environmental conditions. Objectives: 1. To evaluate international instruments to improve the security of Australia's resource access 2. Identify best practice with respect of surety of access Read moreRead less
United on the field? Enhancing equity and inclusion in community sport. The project aims to deepen understanding of how equity and inclusion policies within community sport can be transformed to address inequities in participation. The project expects to generate new knowledge using intersectional policy-based analysis to inform the development of more effective policy responses to systemic, multi-layered inequities in the sports sector. Expected outcomes include increased capacity within the sp ....United on the field? Enhancing equity and inclusion in community sport. The project aims to deepen understanding of how equity and inclusion policies within community sport can be transformed to address inequities in participation. The project expects to generate new knowledge using intersectional policy-based analysis to inform the development of more effective policy responses to systemic, multi-layered inequities in the sports sector. Expected outcomes include increased capacity within the sport sector to address exclusion and widen participation. This will result in significant social benefits, such as providing fair access to community sports for marginalized communities, and economic benefits, by reducing the health costs associated with low physical activity.Read moreRead less
Mid-Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IM230100527
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,051,456.00
Summary
Transforming harvest surplus into nutritious meals for food relief. The project aims to transform currently wasted harvest surplus into nutritious shelf-stable plant-based products for the food-relief sector. It integrates novel social-enterprise models with advanced food manufacturing and bespoke training and volunteering opportunities for food insecure individuals, to facilitate their pathway out of food insecurity. In close collaboration with food relief supply-chain provider Foodbank SA and ....Transforming harvest surplus into nutritious meals for food relief. The project aims to transform currently wasted harvest surplus into nutritious shelf-stable plant-based products for the food-relief sector. It integrates novel social-enterprise models with advanced food manufacturing and bespoke training and volunteering opportunities for food insecure individuals, to facilitate their pathway out of food insecurity. In close collaboration with food relief supply-chain provider Foodbank SA and policymaker Green Industries SA, the project will tackle two major problems for Australia – food insecurity and food waste – through systems thinking and leveraging underused resources, while building collaborations across academia and multiple industry sectors.Read moreRead less